If it's Tuesday....

Due to inclement weather last Tuesday, we did not take off for Geneva, Switzerland and the WTO. This class is rescheduled for this coming Tuesday, March 15 at 6:10 PM in the lower level computer lab. The focus of this workshop is on the WTO and other resources regarding international trade law research.


Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

Library Open Forum, Summary of Top Library Issues, and Winners of the Survey Drawing

The open forum has been rescheduled for Wednesday, March 16, 2005 from 5:00 p.m.-6:00 p.m. in room 205. Hope to see you there!

Though we can discuss these in greater detail during the forum, the top two comments fell into these categories --- noise and facilities.

1. Noise. Next week, we will post additional signage to provide clearer designations of quiet versus talking areas. (Also see the posting immediately below this one for other steps being taken). One of the repeated suggestions requested absolute quiet and strict enforcement of the rule. For many reasons, this would cause a working library to become unworkable. That said, if someone is unusually loud, or if there are particular locations (and/or times) where inappropriate conversations peak, please let me know, as specific actions may be appropriate. This is a multi-faceted matter, and I hope that we will discuss it further at the forum.
2. Facilities. Oh, the joys and tribulations caused by the facilities! The top two concerns in this category are the furniture and electrical outlets. The law library, and indeed, the law school, are aware that these two issues need to be addressed. Since last fall, we have been talking to vendors about replacement furniture. Replacement will be an ongoing project, spanning several years. Any new furniture will be configured to provide electricity to each seat, and electrical wiring and circuit breakers will be added during the replacement process.

Please keep those comments coming!

Last, but not least, congratulations to the winners of the library survey raffle ---

Rebecca Roth
Anna Derewenda
Lauren Berson
Jason Veny
Michael Janovec
Jason Lange
Daniella Fine
Elizabeth McGrath
Jacob Djaboury
Melissa Guillame

Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

NOISE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yes, like you, my profound meditation has been more than occasionally interrupted by noise in the Library - even in the quiet areas. It gets so a virtual cat cannot even hear himself purr! The Library staff has assured me that they will do their best not to contribute to the noise and to post signs to better demarcate talking areas from quiet study areas. Nonetheless, for the librarians and staff to eliminate all noise, they would have to become constant noise patrol - and would thereby have to abandon all other functions, such as helping you with your research, lending wireless cards and signing out study rooms.

So, we need your help to address this issue. If you are concerned about noise in the Library, as I know from your comments many of you are, please attend the soon to be rescheduled Library Open Forum. Watch your email and this space for the new date and time.

Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

Law and ____________ (fill in the Blank)

Doing some cross-disciplinary research? Did you know that Axinn library subscribes to dozens of online databases to help you research in many different subjects? Go to Axinn Library Research Databases Subject List to see the range of choices. Take a look at two of my favorites - Academic Search Premier (multi-subject) and Factiva - best for Business research but has a whole lot more.


Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

Thank you for your participation (library survey)!

Thanks to all participants of the law library survey! The results are still being compiled, but we should have a Frequently Asked Questions post for you this week, along with the winners of the Amazon gift certificates.

Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

Tuesday's (March 8) Whirlwind Tour - Geneva!

The next stop on the 21st Century Library's whirlwind tour of foreign, comparative and international legal research is Geneva, Switzerland where we will visit the World Trade Organization (WTO). This workshop will provide an overview of WTO research and international trade law in general. The WTO is a start but definitely not the end of international trade!

The workshop will be held at 6:10 PM to no later than 7 PM in the lower level computer lab. Be prepared to take off and tour in a whirl!

Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

LawCrawler

If conducting legal research on the web, you can fine tune your results by using Findlaw's LawCrawler instead of a general search engine. The LawCrawler will focus your search on sites with legal information and within specific domains. Give it a try and see if you glean a more accurate result list from a smaller, more select universe of information.
Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat